


sea

by lethargicProfessor



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Eventual Romance, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2019-12-30 13:47:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18316466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lethargicProfessor/pseuds/lethargicProfessor
Summary: The trip to the beach was supposed to be a chance for Ryuji to hang out with Shiho and Ann. He doesn't blame them for ditching him, but still, it's boring without company.





	sea

“Let’s go to the beach,” Ryuji muttered under his breath. “It’ll be fun, she says. We’ll all get to hang out, she says.”

He wouldn’t be so bitter if Ann hadn’t disappeared with Shiho exactly five minutes after they arrived. Left with no other options, Ryuji dragged himself to the beach, all alone. 

It was fine, he was used to it. Still sucked that his only friends ditched him to go make out under a palm tree or whatever, but he couldn’t be angry for long. They deserved to have some good times.

Still left him wandering the beach alone, picking up shells to chuck back into the water. The hermit crabs he left alone, but all the empty ones were fair game. He wandered along, grumbling under his breath, and eventually gave up, perching on a rock further away from the beach. 

The ocean was beautiful, with the waves nice and steady and the sky a hazy blue. Like one of Yusuke’s paintings, but bigger and brighter and taking up the entire horizon.

Ryuji sat on the rock for what felt like hours, the sun slowly beating on his back. It wasn’t that bad, though he’d probably feel it later. But it was worth it. The scenery would have been nicer shared, of course. But it was nice.

He took some pictures to share with Ann and Shiho once they got back to the hotel, and let himself doze off in the sun.

Ryuji woke to a splash of cold water ripping a startled yell out of him, half asleep as he was, flailing his arms around to find his sheets.

It took him longer than he cared to realize he wasn’t in his bed, or in the city at all. 

The fish man in front of him holding his leg helped a little, though. He looked about as startled as Ryuji felt, his mouth open and hovering over Ryuji’s leg like he’d just been about to take a chunk out of him before his rude awakening.

“Is this for real, or am I dreaming?” He asked the fish man nonchalantly, not doing a damn thing to move his leg away from what could possibly be a carnivorous beast. Those teeth looked sharp as hell.

The fish man very slowly released his leg, shutting his mouth with a soft click. His eyes were huge and gray, and what looked like hair was damp and clinging to his face in dark black waves. His hands were more like claws, his nails deadly sharp, and now a little more awake, Ryuji could start to feel the little pricks on his leg as the salt water continued to rush over him. 

Still, at least it didn’t actively try to kill him. In fact, the longer Ryuji watched him, the more embarrassed the fish man seem to be, caught and struggling to find the best way to leave without making a bigger fool of himself.

Despite himself, Ryuji grinned, pulling his legs up to his chest to hug his knees, the rock he had been napping on starting to disappear under the rising tide. “Did you think I was dead? You that hungry?”

Fish man huffed and crossed his arms, the scales running up his forearms glinting black and silver. Ryuji laughed. “I’m probably not that tasty, but if you stick around I can try to find you something. How’s that sound?”

Sharp gray eyes narrowed at him, but Fish Man lowered his arms and shrugged, sinking into the water slowly. Ryuji figured that was as much of an answer as he was gonna get, so he slipped off the rock into the water, groaning at the cold. “Wait for me!” He called, hoping Fish Man would hear him. “I’ll bring you something good, I promise!”

There was a response, a splash of a dark finned tail, and the sensation that something was watching as Ryuji swam back to shore. Ann and Shiho were gonna regret not going to the beach with him, that much was for sure.


End file.
